


A Study in Darkness

by ADashOfStarshine (ADashOfInsanity)



Category: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-09
Updated: 2014-04-13
Packaged: 2018-01-18 19:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1440811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADashOfInsanity/pseuds/ADashOfStarshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of 'what if' AU drabbles focussing on Knoll.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Another Lies.

**Another Lies**

Contrary to popular belief it seemed as if the gods did not forsake the users of dark magic entirely.  Though perhaps Selena and Caellach were simply gullible, or the Demon King had never seen him as a threat. A man in dark robes could pass through the corridors of Grado Keep with alarming ease. Knoll knew better than to criticise however. The darkness was still a blessing regardless of its implications. His robes and cloak had sufficient volume to hide a week’s worth of food if he ate sparingly. Also by voluntarily locking himself away, he could at least guarantee himself a more comfortable cell.

Not that any cell was remotely accommodating.

His entire plan had rested on obtaining the Sacred Stone of Frelia and a thankfully-passable imitation of the Emperor’s seal. It had worked. Selena had sent the stone straight into his waiting hands and without anyone else knowing about the whole affair. The next step had been to obtain Gleipnir, the sacred tome of Grado. No one had not entered the vault since that fateful day. The magical wards had been taken down and now only a guard route stood between safety and theft.  Unfortunately the book was far too large to keep under his usual cloak so he had to move in the dead of night. Once obtained, the book was buried under a pile of old robes in his chamber. The presence of that book in his room had made sleep even harder to obtain.  He hated his plan. Perhaps what he found even more distasteful was the fact he had to do it himself. He was the only one who knew the full truth. Yet had he not caused enough damage already? He had ruined an innocent mind, did he have to rob it of consciousness as well?

He had the stone and the book. He could no longer deny that it was true. He was the only one who had a clear view of the matter. If he ended this here and now then not only would he save the lives of so many, he could also preserve the honour of his prince. According to reports Prince Ephraim of Renais was charging through the country with an army of elite warriors. The Renaitian would rather find his friend as innocent as the day he abandoned him than controlled by a monster. Knoll knew that deep down he would love to pretend he had never made such terrible mistakes.  His plan wrapped everything he could, it was as perfect as he could make it. One day he would like to succeed at something that wouldn’t result in funerals.

The sacred tome haunted him with its bizarre mixture of faith and the fell. It was a sign of the inevitable. If he didn’t do it and preserve his prince’s innocence then an army of faceless monsters or soldiers would do it in the end and the world would see him as a demon.  He picked up the tome and donned an extra cloak to hide what he carried. In his other hand he carried the Sacred Stone of Frelia, holding it tight to prevent its glow giving him away...not to stop his hands shaking at all.

It turned out even the hosts of demons needed to sleep sometimes.

He retrieved a comb from his prince’s dresser, clothes from his wardrobe and bandages from the bag that lay by his own hip. In the silvery light filtering in through the gap in the curtains, he tended to the wounds as carefully as a cleric before dressing his prince in a fresh set of robes.  Once clean and properly attired Knoll laid him gently in a chair before removing the bloodied sheets. Finding spare blankets under the bed, he then proceeded to tuck in his liege as if pandering to the old cliché.  He looked beautiful. Knoll carefully moved a strand of hair from the prince’s closed lids before leaving the room and heading to Emperor’s chambers.

Remains, bundled up in gore-strewn sheets, were tossed into the fire.  The Sacred Stone of Frelia was placed back in the vault and the magical seals were recast. Exhausted, Knoll took once last look at the magical site before retreating to the kitchens and then his own room. By the end of the night he was a prisoner of his own making. The guards thought him odd but left him to it. They were called away before long to fight the invaders on their doorstep.

Knoll wondered in the dank underground room whether they preferred the terms ‘heroes’ or ‘liberators’. They all meant the same in the end. They have been to war.

“Why are you imprisoned here?”

“I killed the Emperor.” This conversation had become so rehearsed he could no longer bring himself to fake remorse. Twenty days. The invaders were late.

“You…” The Prince of Renais, for who else could it be, seemed surprised.

“He killed Prince Lyon.”

“Lyon! He’s…” All colour slid from the prince’s face like sand from a jar.   Knoll wordlessly passed him a key. The prince looked at it and then back at him.

“He’s upstairs. He’s been enchanted.”

A knight, no paladin, helped him to his feet saying something about a war hero, bravery and medical attention. Knoll’s attention was too fixed on that prince to pay him much attention.  The Prince of Renais had caused his prince so much damage and yet he had just handed over the key to this cause of grief. He ignored the insistences of the paladin. Knoll knew he must go with the prince. He hadn’t gone this far, done this much, for the prince not to understand. So he followed.

The prince wept slightly louder than he did in his prison cell, but that didn’t mean the Renaitian loved his prince any more.  Knoll watched as the prince clasped those cold hands and proclaimed how he could have saved his friend. His liege is still so beautiful.

“Emperor Vigarde died shortly before the war started. Recalling how he had once saved a child with near-fatal burns, Prince Lyon attempted to use the Sacred Stone of Grado, or the Fire Emblem, to heal him. However our stone held a horror, the soul of the Demon King of old. It possessed the Emperor, starting this dreadful war. When my prince amassed the courage and tried to escape with the truth, the demon struck him down with fell magic. I…did all I could. Forgive me.”

The prince seemed to attempt a gathering of himself.

“What… were you to Lyon?”

Well, Knoll thought to himself, one more lie couldn’t hurt.


	2. Lost Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lyon falls prey to the Demon King. Or is it Knoll he should be frightened of?

_“You need to understand my prince that I am doing this for your own safety. There is a war going on and if you stay here I know you can be kept safe. I’ve put wards up round the room and your father chose some of the best guards in the Keep. You can remain here lovely and safe and secure with no need to worry. Not even those wicked twins will find you here, if they can even get within these walls.”_

With that he left, leaving me tied and gagged upon my own bed. I never could have thought it possible. In a way, it was my fault for attempting to escape. I shouldn’t have tried to strike him and make my escape. Yet I had to tell someone that my father wasn’t acting like himself! We never were very close but I know he would not have ordered this war, or my imprisonment. I could tell when he started praising me that something was the matter. I grew even more worried when he made Knoll a general. My father had never held a conversation with Knoll before let alone seen him fight. Knoll is a talented mage, but it just seemed so unusual.  Then, when I found out General Duessel was having similar thoughts, I went to speak to him. Knoll found out. He spoke to me and warned me that it was his obligation to tell my father of this. He gave me a choice in such a wicked way of speaking, a way that was so unlike him! In exchange for not telling my father of my treachery, I would have to surrender myself to him.  He said he wanted to take me off my pedestal and possess me. He frightened me. His voice was cold and malicious. He didn’t seem like Knoll anymore.

Sometimes I thought my life would have been easier if I had accepted his offer. He gave me time to consider his bargain but the more I thought about it the more I could not keep myself silent.  I could not give my freedom to him. I suspected that he, or whatever he was now, was responsible for my father’s change. I was going to tell Duessel this when I was discovered by Knoll. The next day I was arrested and locked in my own room. Knoll put wards up around the room. He spoke of nothing but protecting me. His voice had returned to its usual tone yet he was still unnerving. As he made them I could see his wards did not keep magic out, they kept it in. I could not cast anything in that room, be it tome-channelled magic or summoning. For weeks I was kept in there, confined by the walls of my chamber. I could not hear anything going on in the rest of the castle and my only experience of the outside world was when the guards gave me food, or when Knoll came to visit and talk.

He talked of such horrifying things. He described waves of monsters coming from the Darkling Woods and infesting the land. These fell beasts would be under his control and after the earthquake had been stopped, Grado would rule as a supreme empire. A perfect land would be created for us to rule side by side and I would have no choice but to admire what he had done, fall for him, and then spend the rest of my life beside him.  In my fear I said I didn’t think I could feel that way about him. Knoll then blamed you and Eirika and then proceeded to plan how to rid the world of you both!

I was so scared. You cannot blame me for lashing out at him the next time he came to visit me. I tried to hit him with a chair. If he had been knocked out I could have then escaped. There were fewer guards when he was around.  I failed and he overpowered me and tied me up. He said he was disappointed in me and he was going to tell my father.  From then on I depended on him for my freedom. He brought me meals and it was only by his permission that I could move anywhere. If he was too busy then I wouldn’t be fed, sometimes for days. I didn’t hear the guards at all; perhaps they weren’t even there anymore. I didn’t know.

All I could do was lie on my bed and think.  I worked out so much but had no way of telling anyone. I knew the Demon King had taken Knoll but somehow I couldn’t place the blame squarely upon that monster. Knoll talked of such personal matters. Sometimes I wondered if the demon had simply set all of Knoll’s darkest desires free and not controlled him at all. I didn’t want to think that lurking behind his polite exterior Knoll had always wanted to own me, but I kept coming to that conclusion! Knoll’s visits, which became rarer, just made me think so more and more.

Until one day he left me. I had lost all concept of time. I could tell when it was day or night by the light through the curtains but weeks and months were impossible to keep track of.  With Knoll gone I had lost everything. I spent as much time as I could asleep so I couldn’t feel how much my body ached from being tied up or my stomach hurt from lack of food. I thought I was going to die without ever seeing you again. I thought Knoll was going to hurt you. I thought that because I was so weak as to not even be able to hit Knoll with a chair, that I had doomed everyone.

I don’t remember you finding me. I’m just so glad you’re safe. Sometimes I was so worried that would I die and only then see you again because you had gone the same way. You’re safe and Eirika’s safe, thank the gods. If you had died it would have been my fault, I was too weak to warn anyone, to tell them how dangerous Knoll was.  I’m just so glad you’re alright.

 Thank you so much for saving me. I’ll do all I can to help.

Thank you. I never wanted anyone get to hurt.

You believe me don’t you?

Thank you Ephraim.


End file.
